Exclusive: Meet Aimé Leon Dore, New York's Coolest Young Label

Though Aimé Leon Dore is only nine months old, you wouldn’t know it by looking. Their strong image can be credited to ALD’s owner Teddy Santis, who admits that though the logistics of owning a clothing label comes with a steep learning curve, he feels he has a solid understanding of what makes his favorite brand’s—like Nike and A.P.C.—so desirable to customers. He’s even made Nike and Jordan’s iconic styles a part of ALD’s brand identity by including them in lookbooks and hanging from the ceiling of his recent pop-up shop, co-opting their caché and presenting it in a part-tailored, part-streetwear context that perfectly sums up how his customers wear clothes in 2014. Overcoats with hoodies, cable-knit sweaters with sweatpants, and scarves paired with baseball hats, are all part of the high-low balance that makes ALD feel fresh.

For their latest photoshoot, Teddy enlisted photographer Justin Chung to shoot the label’s 0214 "New York" collection. Teddy was born and raised in Queens, but the new photoset takes place in Harlem. "We wanted to do something that mis high and low, something that brings out the elegance in what’s usually thought to be a not so pretty place," says Santis.

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